Czech police detained and questioned Russians Vitaly Chashchukhin and Igor Dolmatov, who are linked to the propaganda project "Rybar", after which they ordered them to leave the country within three days. Seznam Zprávy reports, UNN writes.
Details
The Russians arrived in the Czech Republic to film a documentary. During questioning, they claimed that they worked for the Russian outlet "Izvestia", which is under European Union sanctions.
Earlier, Seznam Zprávy journalists arranged a meeting with members of the film crew in Prague and conducted covert filming. During the conversation, Chashchukhin confirmed that he was working in the interests of "Rybar". After journalists approached the Russians and introduced themselves, Chashchukhin and Dolmatov attempted to flee.
The film crew planned to work in a number of European countries.
According to the outlet, Chashchukhin was questioned for about nine hours. After that, he was ordered to leave the Czech Republic and departed for Germany, where he has the right to reside. Czech law enforcement officials continue to investigate his activities and have already informed their German counterparts.
The investigation also established that Russian documentary filmmaker Boris Dvorkin was organizing the filming. The group planned to work not only in the Czech Republic but also in Slovakia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Austria, Hungary, Belgium, and France.
Rybar founder Mikhail Zvinchuk is under EU sanctions. In 2024, the United States announced a reward of up to $10 million for information about the project's employees in connection with influence operations.
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